Regional

8:13 am

Wed December 12, 2012

Officials Postponing Prescribed Fire South Of Truchas

Officials with the Santa Fe National Forest say they are postponing a prescribed fire south of Truchas at least until Thursday.

Parts of northern New Mexico were blanketed with snow Sunday after a storm moved over the northeastern corner of the state. That was followed by windy conditions and two days of bitter cold.

Forest officials say the burn had initially been scheduled to start Tuesday. The goal is to clear out hazardous fuels from 110 acres over a four-day period.

Once the burning starts, officials say smoke is expected to settle into lower elevations.

Officials say prescribed burns are conducted when specific conditions align to allow fire managers to safely conduct the burn. Those conditions include temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation and factors that would affect smoke dispersion.